Trump is attempting to fundamentally rewrite how the law is applied in America.
Birthright citizenship
Trump issues an executive order purporting to upend how birthright citizenship works in the US. Several entities sued.
- State of Washington v Trump
- New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support v Trump
- Casa Inc v Trump
- Doe v Trump
- State of New Jersey v Trump
Corruption
- United States v. Adams: can the US make quid pro quo deals with politicians to drop criminal charges in exchange for political favours?
Deportations for free speech
Trump believes people can be deported for their speech.
Deportations to gulags
Trump believes people can be renditioned to a foreign maximum-security megaprisons, without judicial review.
- Abrego Garcia v. Noem: when the US illegally deports a man to El Salvador in violation of a prior court order, must they at least try to get him back?
- J.G.G. v Trump: should people be permitted the opportunity to object before being blackbagged to a foreign terrorism prison?
Freedom of the press
- Associated Press v Budowich: can the president punish the press if they don't report the way he likes?
Funding freezes
Trump applied funding freeze that took effect immediately. In some cases, organizations were denied payment for services already provided.
- AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition v US Dept of State: USAID freeze
- Massachusetts v National Institutes of Health: NIH research rate cap
- National Council of Nonprofits v OMB: OMB funding memo
Intimidation, law firms
See also law firms in the second Trump administration.
Trump issued executive orders against several law firms, often based on personal vendettas based on how their current or previous employees have treated him.
Many law firms capitulated. Some resisted:
Intimidation, other
- Does 1-9 v DOJ: Trump is seeking to learn the names of the FBI members who investigated January 6 and the Mar-a-Lago documents case. The FBI members would prefer not to disclose their names.
Trans rights
- Doe v McHenry: a trans prisoner sues to prevent her being transferred to a men's prison
- Orr v Trump: can trans people use their lived identity, or only their sex assigned at birth on their passports?
- PFLAG v Trump: can minors continue to receive medical treatment for gender dysphoria?
- Shilling v US: trans military members sue to prevent being discharged
- Talbott v Trump: trans military members sue to prevent being discharged
- Washington v Trump: can minors continue to receive medical treatment for gender dysphoria?
Other
- Climate United Fund v Citibank: can Trump yoink money from your bank account for no reason at all?
- Dellinger v Bessent: can Trump fire a watchdog even if the law says he can't?
Cases I'm not yet tracking
Should track
Might track
These are also interesting cases, but feel less important than the others, and I have limited time.
- Doe v Office of Personnel Management: the underlying case isn't that interesting. However, there's a pending motion for sanctions against the government. One of the gov lawyers has since quit DOJ and is now on the Abrego Garcia case. Maybe that's just random noise, but maybe there's something interesting there.
- also, https://bsky.app/profile/smith.senate.gov/post/3lislyqfi5k2h would be relevant
- State of Maine v USDA: if the governor of Maine is mean to the president, can he take food from the mouths of Maine's schoolkids?
- National Treasury Employees Union v Vought: can the president unilaterally dismantle an agency created by Congress?
- noteworthy for comments the judge made in her preliminary injunction order